The Porsche 70th Anniversary Auction was held last weekend in Atlanta, featuring approximately 70 of the world's most important and most sought-after collectible Porsche models, spanning the marque's illustrious 70-year history as a sports car manufacturer. Porsche 959 Paris-Dakar fetched the highest price at the sale after selling for US$5.94m. Yet, Porsche 911 Turbo Project Gold took centre stage at the auction for it is the one and only 911 Project Gold ever to come onto the marketplace.
The bidding started at US$174,546 and soon escalated into an intense bidding battle. The 911 project gold attracted strong interest from bidders and received 37 bids in 10 minutes. It was finally hammered down for US$3.1m and sold for US$3.41m after premium.
911 Project Gold
Porsche 70th Anniversary Auction
“Project Gold” is a show car that is immediately recognisable as a Porsche of the 993 generation – a series vaunted by enthusiasts as the last of the traditional air-cooled 911s, ending its production run for 1998. After one-and-a-half years of work by numerous, highly experienced Porsche professionals, the offering of “Project Gold” is a truly unique, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Porsche have clearly stated they will never build another car like it, as indicated by its series designation “001/001.”
The show car was offered without reserve with a starting bid of U$174,546, the manufacturer's suggested retail price in 1998, with proceeds goes to the Ferry Porsche Foundation. It came as no surprise that Project Gold was sold for a whopping US$3.41m, far exceeding the opening bidding, given its rarity and uniqueness.
Project Gold was sold for US$3.41m in a 10-minute bidding battle
Porsche have clearly stated they will never build another car like it, as indicated by its series designation “001/001”
The build of “Project Gold” lasted one-and-a-half years, mainly relied on the more than 52,000 genuine parts available in Porsche Classic’s resources, of which there are currently available 6,500 parts for the 993 generation alone. The 3.6-liter, six-cylinder bi-turbocharged boxer engine was built entirely from brand-new genuine parts and delivers 450 hp at 6,000 rpm – 42 hp more than the standard 993 Turbo had.
Project Gold (front) is not street-legal
Ferry Porsche, Founder of the Porsche car company
Nevertheless, the car is not street-legal since the car was built using over 6,500 genuine brand-new 993 parts, which means it would need to conform to new-car standards to be safe for the road. Now that the car falls into private collection, maybe we won’t be able to see it again until the next time it appears in showrooms or salerooms.
Porsche 959 Paris-Dakar on display in Atlanta showroom
Porsche 959 Paris-Dakar
The most valuable car of the sale was Porsche 959 Paris-Dakar that sold for US$5.94m after premium, almost two times its estimate of US$3m. It was driven by three-time winner René Metge for the 1985 running of the Dakar Rally, but it failed to finish due to its oil-line failure.
Though the sale realised a remarkable 84% sell-through rate, a number of high-valued cars were hammered down for prices below estimates, including a classic 356 A Speedster that sold for US$490,000.
Several race cars which were expected to fetch in excess of US$2m went unsold, including a 956 Group C that competed in 24 Hours of Le Mans for two times and a 911 Carrera RSR 3.0 that formerly owned by renowned actor Paul Newman. They are now listed as ‘still for sale’ on the auction house’s website.
Top lots (sorted by prices realised)
Porsche 959 Paris-Darka
Lot no.: 196
Made in: 1985
Estimate: US$3,000,000 - $3,400,000
Price realised: US$5,945,000
2018 Porsche 911 Turbo Classic Series "Project Gold"
Lot no.: 220
Made in: 2018
Estimate: US$176,000
Price realised: US$3,415,000
2015 Porsche 918 Spyder
Lot no.: 185
Made in: 2015
Estimate: US$1,400,000 - $1,600,000
Price realised: US$1,407,500
1956 Porsche 356 A 1600 'Super' Speedster by Reutter
Lot no.: 203
Made in: 1956
Estimate: US$500,000 - $600,000
Price realised: US$494,500
High-valued lots went unsold
Porsche 956 Group C
Lot no.: 200
Made in: 1983
Estimate: US$5,250,000 - $6,750,000
Bought-in
1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RSR 2.8
Lot no.: 181
Made in: 1973
Estimate: US$2,400,000 - $2,800,000
Bought-in
1975 Porsche 911 Carrera RSR 3.0
Lot no.: 215
Made in: 1975
Estimate: US$2,000,000 - $2,200,000
Bought-in
Auction summary
Auction house: RM Sotheby's
Sale: Porsche 70th Anniversary Sale
Sale date: 27 October 2018
Lots offered: 63
Sold: 53
Sold by lot: 84.13%
Sale total: US$25,224,640